Boo Bash - Highly Popular Halloween Family Event - October 31, 2010

The city of Boston holds a community Halloween party every year at the
Strand theater called Boo Bash. This year, on Sunday, October 31, 2010,
hundreds of kids and adult-sized would-be kids joined the festivities
for another successful, healthy and fun-filled family event.

Face painting was popular with the little kids and the big kids as
well.

Dancing in the Great Hall

One of the best parts of
the Boo Bash reminded us of sitting and
watching the grass grow. What an odd thing to say! But it's true.

In order to want to sit quietly and watch a bunch of kids on
stage
dancing to piped-in music, you have to be really relaxed, tired or in
the mood for meditating.

The first floor seating area was filled
with adults and kids sitting calmly, talking, laughing and watching.
There was not a rowdy person in the crowd -- no crying, no
screaming,
no shouting -- just people taking in the scene.

For the
go-getter kids
the stage was the perfect place to be with other kids just like
themselves, to show off their costumes and get down to the music.
It
was also a great way for the kids to use up their energy.

Where's the Halloween candy?

Some party-ers came up to us asking:
"Where's the candy?" (Don't know) We were curious - and hungry for sweets?? -- maybe a chocolate
bar, some bubblegum, maybe a lollipop?

No,
no, no!

The City of Boston was really good about setting a
model for
healthy Trick or Treats. Once the attendees realized
there was no
candy, they were happy to ask for chocolate milk, ice cream and
apples. The ice cream went first. There was a
little bit of chocolate
milk left at the end. And the apples?

"So what are you going to do with all
of those
apples?" we asked. Her answer? "I
understand there's a shelter across the street." She was right. There is a
homeless shelter across the
street. We hope the apples are more popular there than they were with the kids.

A Live Crocodile, Too

Off to the side was a
rain forest display -- very interesting. The
volunteer, who performs animal rescue work for a living,
sat calmly holding
her four-year-old crocodile.

She explained: "Some day this
crocodile will be returned to a natural setting, what is called a
sanctuary. No wild animal, once handled by humans, can ever
be
successfully returned to the wild." The crocodile seemed so
benign and
calm. She was petting it as if they were the best of friends.

"Will
it ever get any bigger?" we asked rather naively. Her answer
was a bit
of a surprise but then on reflection, a matter of common sense.
"900
pounds." That's right - she said 900 pounds. I
watched the crocodile
grow rapidly as it sat in her lap. It quickly reached the full 900
pounds and crushed the poor lady.

Well ... What can you expect from someone having so much fun at this
party?